Last month we shared with you our team’s vision — unhindered disciple-making — and new mission statement: “to be a catalyst of God’s Kingdom Expansion in Kenya and the world through our own actions and partnerships with CCC and others.”(“CCC” is the Community Christian Churches with whom we partner — these congregations now number well over 200.) Then we listed the first four of our eight key values which provide the foundation for our mission strategies — Christ-centered, Prayer-powered, Empowerment of nationals, Holistic Ministries. Our other key values are Partnership, Church-focused, Community, and Culturally Appropriate.

To read more, including an update on our Community Christian Bible Training Institute (CCBTI) — now expanded to three campuses! — here is a pdf copy of June’s newsletter.

In my research for my Church History and History of Mission curricula (for teaching at Turkana Bible Training Institute and Mission Institute East Africa, respectively), I ran across this gem from Claudius Buchanan. He was addressing a meeting of the Church Missionary Society on January 7, 1814. The famous William Wilberforce was one of the speakers at the meeting. Dr Buchanan’s style may seem a bit old-fashioned now, but give it a listen:

“In your endeavours to convert the heathen, let your address be ever characterised by the meekness of wisdom (James iii. 13). Address them not in too impassioned a manner while they yet continue in an unconverted state. They will not understand you. They will not themselves be in the least affected by your vehemence, and will consider the use of it as a kind of intemperance or folly on your part. They cannot always perceive the truth of your arguments, but they will understand your courtesy of manners and can admire the beauty of Christian conduct.”

~ quoted by Charles Hole, The Early History of the Church Missionary Society:
for Africa and the East to the end of A.D. 1814 (London: CMS, 1896), 420.

Today is January 6, the day which the Church traditionally observes as “Epiphany,” the “Revealing” of Christ to the Gentiles. So yesterday was the 12th day of Christmas and this is the day we should sing “We Three Kings” and the day when the ancient church liturgies would read the verses about the baptism of Jesus.

Today is also the day when we finally have a new update ready: click here to download a PDF of our January 2012 newsletter.

In October, I (Joshua) spent about two weeks with our teammates in Turkana land. I taught two courses at Turkana Bible Training Institute (TBTI) in Lodwar and was able to get out in the bush a few times. I’ve finally been able to post some new albums to our photo album page: my TBTI classes, the irrigated garden plots with which our teammates are empowering the Turkana believers, and my time worshiping with Turkana believers.

Over on our video page, I’ve embedded a clip our teammates put together about “Farming God’s Way” in the Turkana deserts.

A highlight from teaching Church History to Turkana church leaders in Northwest Kenya: at the end of the course two of the students told me, “now I can see that the Church is not a wazungu (foreign white people) religion. It has been in Africa since its beginning and has deep roots in African soil.” A third told me, “The Church is not an exotic plant here. It is indigenous.”